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The implementation of conceptual
structures in the brain: a hopeful perspective |
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Pieter Seuren Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, NL The big question in neurolinguistics, both
from a theoretical and a practical point of view, is how to “connect” the
language system and language use with hardware cerebral structures and
processes. We expect each specific language system to be physically
implemented in terms of brain structures, and the actual, active and passive,
use of language in terms of brain processes. Since both language systems and
the actual use of language involve “consciousness” to some extent (even
though most of the systems and most of what goes on during speech is below any
threshold of possible awareness), this question is closely related to the
question of how what we experience as “consciousness” can arise out of
physical brain structures and processes. These questions, though of central
concern, are far from solved, though we have the feeling that we are
gradually closing in on them. Neurolinguistics aims
specifically at getting a grip on these questions. One great obstacle in this
regard is the simple fact that the discipline of linguistics as a whole has
failed to come up with an authoritative, generally accepted theory of the
systems underlying language and language use in non-hardware terms, which
makes it hard for neurolinguists to know what to
look for. A reasonably precise specification of the software underlying language
systems and language use would be of great help in this regard. In other
words, if linguistics is to “feed” neurolinguistics
with useful information to go by, it should strive for maximally formalized
statements of linguistic systems and their use in daily speech. |